Fairytales
by Umi Hinode
Summary: Falling in love was something so strange to her, something so distant from her everyday life, yet she realized maybe it wasn't as far off as she thought. [part one of the sun rises]


She had been awfully inspired to write a love song lately.

Inspiration had come much easier to her over the past few months thanks to the founding of μ's, but the frantic pen scribbles that made up her lyric notebook were almost frightening. The small pink journal had begun to fray ever so slightly over time as she used it more frequently, despite her best efforts to keep it in top shape, and there had been even more noticeable wear and tear over the past few weeks. Honoka, unsurprisingly intrigued, had questioned her about it, but Sonoda Umi had a firm rule when it came to writing: no one was to look in the notebook until a song was finished.

"Come on, Umi-chan," Honoka practically begged, looking up at her with those sparkling sky blue eyes of hers that took every bit of Umi's impulse control to hold her ground against. Her face contorted into something vaguely menacing as she maneuvered around Umi, placing her hands on her shoulders and facing her with a longing smirk. "Let me seeeeee," she sang in a strange deeper voice.

From across the table, Kotori giggled and met the two with a fond smile. "You're so strange, Honoka-chan," she commented, earning a nod in agreement from Umi. Umi's hands protectively hovered over the notebook and she brought it to her chest, hugging it close in hopes of dispelling Honoka. Kotori, noticing this, continued, "If Umi-chan isn't ready to show you, you can't force her to."

With a dramatic sigh, Honoka scooted back over to her seat on her bedroom floor, falling forward and resting her head on the table the trio had seated themselves at. "I know that, but I really want to know what she's writing..."

Kotori glanced between the two, and to Umi she said, "You've been writing a lot lately. Is it a hard song?"

Umi released her hold on the notebook, setting it down the table and casting a warning stare to Honoka before facing Kotori with a bashful smile. "Kind of," she began, nervously intertwining her fingers together in front of her. "It's nothing to worry about, though. I'll perfect it soon enough."

"I'm sure it'll be wonderful," Kotori replied warmly and Honoka enthusiastically nodded in agreement. Umi smiled in reply and returned her notebook to her bag before slinging it over her shoulder and bidding her friends goodbye for the night. Honoka had complained about her not staying longer, and Umi felt a tug at her heartstrings as she met Honoka's gaze.

That had been happening a lot lately, she had noticed.

It wasn't a foreign feeling, that much she knew. After all, she had known Honoka since childhood, and the two had had their fair share of misadventures since. She could berate Honoka all she wanted for her carelessness and her rather strange ideas, but she knew in her heart that it was all worth it. As she walked alone under the moonlight, she found herself remembering that fateful day where Honoka had first approached her, pushing her to play with her and Kotori. Her life would have been much different had she not met the two of them that day, she realized. She couldn't even imagine a world where she didn't know either of them, Honoka especially. She had pushed Umi out of her comfort zone too many times to count, but as Kotori had pointed out to her, she never regretted it. Whether Honoka realized it or not, she was constantly challenging Umi to become a better version of herself.

It was no different with μ's. For the first time, Umi was able to slowly overcome her stage fright and shove aside her anxiety towards writing after some rather questionable decisions with her poetry back in middle school. She was able to stand on stage, hand in hand, singing and dancing with the most important people in her life. μ's might have saved her.

Honoka might have saved her.

With a smile, Umi entered her home, and that night she fell asleep cradling her notebook, hoping for her dreams to bring her clearer ideas. Umi's rather simplistic yet elegant handwriting covered the pages of the book in blue pen, with scribbles found here and there as she had searched for the right words. Below the scribbles of keywords lay the first verses of the song, written as neatly as possible in comparison to what could be found above.

 _More fidgety than usual, acting cuter than normal_

 _How do we become lovey-dovey?_

 _But... (Today...) won't come again_

 _Can't I believe the magic of love exists somewhere?_

 _The miracle of love_

 _Please... (for today) awaken_

When she read those words upon awaking the next morning, she couldn't help but blush profusely and push her book off to her side. This was certainly something new for her, writing a love song. It was easy for her to write about the feelings μ's shared; their hopes, their dreams, their desires, but when it came to feelings she couldn't even begin to understand, she became stumped. As she looked over these lyrics, she couldn't see them as her own feelings. Falling in love was something so strange to her, something so distant from her everyday life.

 _Is this what love is?_ She asked herself, reading those words over and over again, trying to place where these feelings had come from and what they meant. She almost wanted to ask Honoka for advice, and upon realizing just how embarrassing of an idea that would be, she receded under her covers, pulling them over her face and hiding herself from the people that weren't there.

After a moment of hiding out of shame, Umi realized what time it was and rushed to get ready for the day. She narrowly avoided being late, something she had never dreamed of, and she caught up with Kotori just in time. Honoka, per usual, was absent.

"Good morning, Umi-chan!" Kotori greeted cheerfully, and Umi echoed the sentiment with significantly less enthusiasm, still attempting to recover from her unnecessary embarrassment. "Did you make any more progress with the song last night?" Kotori asked, and with a chuckle she added, "I'm sure it was easier to work without Honoka-chan bothering you."

That earned a laugh from her. "I'm sure it would have been, but I haven't thought of much more."

Cautiously, Kotori suggested, "Do you want some help? Maybe Maki-chan composing something for you could inspire you."

"Maybe..." Umi trailed off as her nerves returned to her. Slowly, they began to quell as she noticed something rather strange in the distance.

There, running up the steps to Otonokizaka, was none other than Honoka. Umi gaped at the sight, exchanging glances with an equally surprised Kotori, though the two soon smiled as they shared a realization.

"Honoka!" Umi called, sounding more stern than she had intended as a result of her nerves. Honoka froze, turning around nervously awaiting for what would come next, though she grinned upon seeing her and Kotori. Without waiting for Umi to continue, she hopped down the steps without a care in the world and jogged over to the two.

"Good morning!" Honoka greeted as she turned her attention towards Umi. "You're putting so much work into this song and it really inspired me, Umi-chan! I've got to do my best, too!" She then raised her fist into the air, earning a giggle from Kotori and a warm smile from Umi.

"I'm glad," Umi replied, watching as she jumped back up onto the first step, twirling around to face the two once more.

"I'll race you to the rooftop!"

Umi shrugged her shoulder to show off her bag, her bow and arrows poking out of the top. "I have archery practice today, sorry."

Disappointed, Honoka frowned, though Kotori quickly brought the smile back to her face as she declared, "I'll race you."

Honoka's eyes glinted at that. "You're on, Kotori-chan!"

Umi watched as the two took their places on the steps and as Honoka called for them to start. Both took off running, cautious to not trip yet fueled by the desire to win. After they got further up, Umi began making her way up on the opposite side, reaching the top to find a winded Honoka and a triumphant Kotori despite only having reached the school gate. Upon noticing her, Honoka waved and called out to her, "See you later, Umi-chan!"

Unfortunately, Umi was far too oblivious to understand why her chest felt so tight in that moment. Even more unfortunately, the feeling lingered throughout her archery practice. It was her smile training all over again; no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't land her arrows anywhere near the center, even going as far to have them hit the other targets. Helpless, she fell to the ground, burying her head in her hands as the visuals came back to her.

 _"Love arrow, shoot!"_

It took every bit of self control she had to maintain the bit of composure she had left.

 _What is happening to me?_ She wondered, staring down at her hands and the bow that had fallen to her lap. She couldn't begin to understand why she was feeling this way, and why it had come out of absolutely nowhere. She wasn't in love. She couldn't be. It was shameless; all of this was shameless.

As she made her way to class, she retraced her steps in her mind, wondering just what could have caused her to become like this. Valentine's Day had passed by recently; maybe she had caught herself up in the craze? No, she told herself, that was ridiculous. She had no reason to involve herself in the holiday. She had more important things to focus on; μ's, archery, school, her family's dojo, writing...

Writing. It all came back to those lyrics, those strange, incomprehensible lyrics. She was beginning to doubt that that kind of love even existed.

Those feelings were nothing more than a fairytale.

She really had to stop thinking.

. . .

"A love song?"

Maki's words were enough to force her to bow her head out of shame, and that wasn't even including the air of judgement radiating from her tone. Then again, she supposed she knew Maki well enough at this point to understand that she wasn't being too harsh, at least not intentionally.

Together the two sat in the music room, watching as the sun began to set following their afternoon practice. Umi had decided to take a chance and pull Maki aside as practice was ending, taking her by the hand and almost dragging her to the music room for some privacy. Surely one of the other girls must have noticed, but seeing as Umi was about to burst, it didn't bother her much.

"I know," she began, cautiously meeting Maki's gaze once more, the other girl meeting her with raised eyebrows. "I don't know why, but I wanted to try and write one, and it might just be the worst mistake I've ever made."

Maki sighed, though her gaze softened as she twirled a strand of her hair around her fingers. "You're being over dramatic." Umi opened her mouth to reply, though Maki cut her off as she continued. "I don't know why you're so embarrassed. Love songs are really popular, especially with idols. If that's what you want to write, I think we should give it a shot."

Umi beamed, her worries washed away by her kind words. "I just don't know if I'm the best person to write it."

With a smirk, Maki replied, "You're kidding, right? If anyone can pull this off, it's you."

Umi wanted to argue against it, but she kept her mouth shut, instead meeting Maki with a smile. "Thank you. That really means a lot."

"N-no problem," Maki stuttered, blushing ever so slightly and turning away in hopes Umi wouldn't notice, though it was all in vain. She cleared her throat and muttered, "You and Hanayo and Rin really need some more confidence. There's no reason for any of you to be so self-conscious." Umi's silent gratitude prompted her to continue, swinging her legs around the bench so she could face the piano. Not facing Umi, she inquired, "So, what do you have written so far?"

"...Do I really have to share?"

"Umi."

Defeated, Umi reached for her bag, pulling it into her lap and retrieving the notebook, flipping to the right page before placing it in front of Maki. There still wasn't much to read, and Maki easily skimmed over the lyrics, raising her brows at the many scrawled out words yet nodding in approval at what she saw, putting a fidgeting Umi at ease.

"Not bad," Maki commented, gazing at her with a genuine smile. "I can kind of get an idea of what you're going for, but only you really know what that is, so this won't be perfect."

"Anything is fine," Umi said as she grasped for the notebook, storing it away for safekeeping once again. "You have a way of composing that makes everything clearer for me."

Once again, Maki become a blushing mess, this time slamming her fingers down on the keys as a reflex, making a rather atrocious noise. "W-what are you saying?"

Umi chuckled to herself at the sight. She was glad she wasn't the only one who tended to overreact. It was cute, in a way.

 _Wait...cute?_

And so, her downward spiral began once more.

. . .

Umi closed her eyes as Maki's melody played through her earphones, and she found herself humming along as her lyrics came to mind. She would never understand how Maki could always perfectly capture the atmosphere she wanted for her lyrics, but she wasn't complaining. There was something magical about it, and she found herself replaying one line in particular: _Can't I believe the magic of love exists somewhere?_

It was almost as if Maki had understood her feelings just through that one line, and she couldn't help but smile at that realization.

 _"So, what brought this on?"_ Maki had asked her shortly before they finished for the day. _"You're not exactly the romantic type. Unless..."_

Her smirk had been terrifying. It still terrified her as she vividly remembered it.

 _"Absolutely not!"_

Maki giggled as she began playing with her hair once more. _"Well, I guess I know how you feel."_

Umi had desperately wanted to ask what she meant, but she knew she'd never get an answer; not from Maki.

Much to her surprise, the music cut out as her ringtone began to play. Curious, she unplugged her earbuds and flipped her phone over, puzzled when she saw Honoka's name on her screen. She slid her finger across the screen to accept the call and put the phone to her ear as she rather pointless said, "Hello?"

 _"Umi-chan!"_ Honoka's loud voice blared into her eardrum, which wasn't a surprise, but what did throw her off was the concern in her tone.

"Is everything okay?"

 _"That's what I wanted to ask you!"_ Honoka pouted, and Umi could easily envision her crossing her arms, acting as childish yet endearing as always. _"You rushed out of practice earlier!"_

"I'm sorry I made you worry," Umi apologized, bowing her head despite Honoka not being there to accept the gesture. "I just had to ask Maki for a favor, that's all."

 _"Did you work on the song?"_

"Yes," she replied simply, before hurriedly adding. "It's still not done, so don't ask to see the notebook."

 _"I know,"_ Honoka's serious, honest reply stunned her. _"I'm just so happy that things are finally coming together for you."_

Umi felt the blood rushing to her cheeks as she said, "Thank you."

 _"I'm sorry if I was bothering you,"_ Honoka continued, her voice soft as she spoke. _"I just get so excited every time you start a new song. I want to support you any way I can, though that isn't really much..."_

With a scowl, Umi replied sharply, "Don't say that!" An awkward silence between the two prompted her to clear her throat and continue calmly. "You do so much for me and the rest of μ's. You're not a burden like you think you are."

Honoka hesitated, and Umi couldn't really blame her. Talks like this were horrifically uncommon for them, and Umi was still struggling to understand how things had turned so serious in the first place. More importantly, she was struggling to understand how Honoka was just now bringing this up.

Had she really been that oblivious to how Honoka was feeling? She _had_ been wrapped up in her own thoughts lately.

Finally, Honoka responded. _"I know that. I guess it's just hard to accept sometimes."_ She paused, waiting for Umi to respond, only to hurriedly add, " _Anyway, enough of that! I just wanted to check up on you. I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing."_

"Honoka!" Umi protested, though Honoka said her goodbyes and hung up, leaving her alone in the unbearable silence. She wanted nothing more than to run down to Homura Bakery right then and there, but it was getting rather late. She'd never hear the end of it from her parents. In that moment, she was completely powerless, left to protectively hold her notebook to her chest.

 _I want to support you any way I can._

How her heart ached as Honoka's words replayed in her mind.

Too powerless to do anything else, Umi leaned over the side of her bed, reaching for her bag and retrieving her pencil case. She grasped for her blue writing pen with one hand and flung her notebook open with the other and she immediately began writing.

She had no idea where this line would fit in the song, but for the time being, it didn't matter.

 _I'll show you, I'll show you, somehow I'll show you._

. . .

As she read over her lyrics the following morning, it finally clicked in her head.

These feelings had been stored away in her heart for far too long, and she felt like she was about to burst. Of course she was about to burst. This embarrassment, this compassion, this longing, this passion... she had had it all along, though she was far too oblivious to realize until now.

 _I'll show you, I'll show you, somehow I'll show you._

It was Honoka.

It could only be Honoka.

. . .

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

Umi hesitated to meet Nozomi's gaze, despite how understanding she knew the older girl would be. That was the reason why she had chosen to speak to her.

Well, it was one reason.

"I have something really embarrassing to confess, and I thought you'd be the best to talk to," she explained, narrowly avoiding stuttering while speaking.

Nozomi, noticing her apprehension, giggled out of understanding. "What is it?"

Umi took in a deep breath and forced herself to meet her friend's gaze. "I think I like girls."

Nozomi was undeniably pleased by this development. "Why is that embarrassing?"

"It just is!" Umi exclaimed, burying her head in her hands. "I don't know what to do."

With a smirk, Nozomi asked, "Is there someone in particular that you like?"

"That's..." Umi began, stopping herself from shouting any more, finally giving in. "...Yes."

"Don't worry, I won't ask," Nozomi assured her. "You say you don't know what to do. Don't you want her to know how you feel?"

Umi nodded. "I do, but I'm scared, and confused. I've never felt like this before."

Nozomi hummed in thought, taking her time to come up with the right answer. Before she could answer, the door to the student council room slid open, and Eli appeared in the doorway. Eli and Nozomi's eyes met, and poor Umi was too terrified to turn around. "Ah, Elicchi," Nozomi greeted with a wave. "I'll be there in a moment. Umi-chan wanted my help with something."

Umi brought herself to face Eli, who silently smiled at her in greeting. Though Nozomi said nothing about the situation, Eli seemed to understand and she exited the room, closing the door behind her. Umi let out a breath she had no idea she was holding and Nozomi giggled once again.

"What's so funny?"

"You're so cute, Umi-chan."

Umi transformed into a stuttering mess, unable to pull herself together in time before Nozomi continued.

"The only one who can understand your feelings is you, so I can't help you there," she began, glancing down at the card deck stacked in front of her. "But I wouldn't be embarrassed. There's nothing shameful about being in love."

Umi nodded in agreement. "You're right. Thank you."

"One more thing," Nozomi added. "There's no rush to figure out your feelings. I have faith you'll figure this out."

"Thank you, Nozomi." Umi finally managed to smile, and with newfound confidence she reached for her bag, slinging it over her shoulder before rising from her seat. "I'll see you later."

"Good luck!"

Silently, Umi thought to herself, _I'm going to need it._

. . .

Paying attention in class was nearly impossible, especially with Honoka sitting so close by. Now that Umi was aware of her own feelings, she could hardly stand to be around her. She constantly felt as if her heart was going to explode. It was strange, realizing how different she could act now that she understood how she felt. She desperately wanted to talk to Honoka about what had happened last night, but she was beginning to doubt that she'd ever get a chance. As much as she wanted (and needed) to talk to Nozomi, she was beginning to regret not pulling Honoka aside instead.

Japanese class was the absolute worst of them all. The story they were reading seemed to taunt her, telling the story of a knight desperately trying to rescue his princess. Naturally, Umi's now overactive imagination made her the knight in shining armor hoping of saving her princess, Honoka.

Nozomi had told her there was nothing to be embarrassed about, but this was getting ridiculous.

She would have to speak to Honoka at some point during the day if she wanted to be able to sleep at night.

. . .

"Is something going on between you and Honoka-chan?"

Umi stopped in her tracks, turning to face Kotori, invisible question marks floating around her. "What do you mean?"

"It's almost like you're avoiding each other," Kotori observed. She wasn't wrong; several days had passed, and things hadn't changed. Umi simply wasn't ready to face Honoka, and she didn't want to force her to talk about anything if she didn't want to. She especially didn't want to add insult to injury by telling her how she felt. She knew that definitely wasn't Honoka needed.

"I guess you could say that."

Concerned, Kotori frowned. "Are you okay?"

Umi quickly glanced around the hall to get an idea of how many people were around before she looked to Kotori once more. Quietly, she asked, "Can we talk about this in private?"

Kotori nodded and led her away to the currently abandoned club room, heading into the back room just in case someone were to show up. They took their seats beside each other and Umi let out a sigh as she did so, unable to speak.

"Umi-chan?"

"I like Honoka," Umi blurted, briefly stunning Kotori into silence. "I've been feeling very strange lately, and I realized that that was why. That's why I've been hiding the song away, because it's a love song I wrote about her. But she really wants to see what I have done, and I've finished it now and I want to finally show her, but she's upset and I think it's my fault and-" she cut herself off upon realizing that she was rambling, and she felt herself beginning to choke up as she thought of just how upset Honoka must have been. No matter how many times Umi and the other girls had tried to reassure her, she always seemed to feel a little guilty regarding her position as the leader-yet-not-leader.

"You should talk to her," Kotori told her, reaching for her hand in hopes of calming her down.

Umi smiled at the touch, and with a somewhat confident smile, she said. "I'll try."

Before Kotori could respond, the door to the club room opened and Umi panicked, clutching Kotori's hand only to immediately release it once she realized what she had done. Nico's voice sounded from next door, and Umi let out a sigh of relief.

"Is someone already here?"

Kotori jumped up from her seat and rushed over to the door, opening it and poking her head around the corner. "Hi, Nico-chan!"

Nico flinched as Kotori came into view and coughed to clear her throat. "Kotori, what are you doing here?"

Kotori let out a nervous laugh, "Oh, you know..."

Nico raised her brows, and Umi couldn't blame her.

. . .

"Good job today, everyone!" Umi called out as everyone relaxed, some collapsing to the ground following a rather intense practice session. Honoka was one of these few, and Umi chuckled to herself as Kotori helped her up.

"Kotori-chan, carry me home," Honoka whined as she stood back up, wobbling ever so slightly.

Kotori giggled. "Sorry, I have some errands to run. Maybe Umi-chan could take you?" The two met Umi's gaze, and she managed a faint smile, surprised when Honoka returned the gesture.

Well, she was even more surprised when Honoka started running towards her, extending her arms and wrapping them around her when they met. "Umi-chaaaaan, will you carry me home?"

"You can walk yourself," Umi scolded her. "Maybe if you cut back on the bread you wouldn't be as out of shape."

"So mean," Honoka pouted, releasing her hold on her yet looking up at her with a grin.

The duo said their goodbyes to the rest of μ's before heading downstairs together, Honoka jogging ahead of Umi despite her earlier complaining. "I thought you were tired," Umi pointed out, earning a chuckle from Honoka.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you, so I guess I'm just in a better mood now."

"You're so strange," Umi commented as she finally met up with her, pushing the door open and following her out of the school. Despite Honoka's statement, their walk was initially silent as they headed down the steps that led to Otonokizaka, and Umi had to break the silence once they reached the bottom. "Why did you hang up on me that night?"

"I didn't want to bother you," Honoka replied nonchalantly.

Umi frowned. "You'll never bother me, Honoka."

Honoka kept walking, refusing to look back. She didn't have to reply; her silence said enough.

"Honoka," Umi said sternly, hoping, praying that she would face her. Sure enough, she did, though the fear in her eyes was something she couldn't have expected. Did she think Umi was going to slap her again? That was the last thing she wanted to do. Instead of slapping her, Umi took a few cautious steps closer and wrapped into a tight embrace. Honoka's breath hitched, and Umi couldn't tell if it was simply out of shock or if she was about to cry.

It didn't take long for her to find out that it was the latter.

"Honoka..." she repeated in what was almost a whisper, as she cradled her childhood friend in her arms, tearing up as she listened to her sob. "Why are you crying?"

"I don't know," Honoka replied hastily, sniffling as Umi held her closer. After a moment, she said, "I love you, Umi-chan."

Umi didn't hesitate as she replied, "I love you, too." She released Honoka from her grasp, watching as Honoka wiped away her tears before facing her with a genuine smile, not one of the fake ones she had been showing off over the past few days.

"Do you want to hang out today?" She asked suddenly, throwing Umi off guard, though she replied with a smile.

"I'd like that. I can show you the song, then."

Honoka gaped, excitedly exclaiming, "You finished it? Why didn't you share it at practice?"

Shyly, Umi responded, "I wanted to show you first."

Impatient thanks to this new development, Honoka took Umi by the hand, leading the way back to the bakery, though stopping as a currently abandoned park caught her eye. It wasn't just any park, however; it just so happened to be the park where they had first met all those years ago. It was rather fitting. Still holding Umi's hand, Honoka wandered over to the swings, flinging herself onto one as Umi sat down beside her.

"Okay, I'm ready!"

"I actually wanted to sing it to you..." Umi trailed off, blushing as she did so.

Honoka clasped her hands together before giving her a thumbs up, signaling her to begin.

 _Why am I doing this?_ Umi wanted to scream. She hadn't really thought about just how mortifying it would be to sing the love song she had wrote to the girl she had wrote it about, but here she was, and she couldn't turn back now. She couldn't worry about whether or not this was right considering what had just happened, she could only take in a deep breath and begin in spite of the butterflies in her stomach.

 _More fidgety than usual, acting cuter than normal_  
 _How do we become lovey-dovey?_  
 _But... (Today...) Won't come again_

 _Can't I believe the magic of love exists somewhere?_  
 _The miracle of love_  
 _Please... (For today) Awaken_

 _(And so) A pure heart is justice! (It's pure) You should turn around_  
 _(And so) How about gradually letting my sweet (Dreams) into your heart? Treat yourself (To my dreams)_

 _Happy? Dear?_  
 _It's the happiest love in the world_  
 _I'll show you, I'll show you, Somehow I'll show you_  
 _With a lot of effort, I'll do my best!_  
 _Happy? Dear? Touching?_  
 _I love you... (So much...) I love you..._  
 _(Catch me) Firmly (More) Look at me_  
 _Getting closer to "love"! Because I love you_

 _Something's different and I'm excited, I want to know who to ask_  
 _This is completely pure, pure love_  
 _I knew it... (How weird) I'm blushing_

 _Let's start the magic of love right now, the two of us!_  
 _I'm shy but I have courage_  
 _Good-bye to it... (How weird) How daring_

 _(Listen) It's a match through passion! (At length) Shall I talk to you?_  
 _(Listen) Let my acutely swelling and warm (Feelings) reach you! Accept (My feelings)_

 _I want to give it! I want to figure it out!_  
 _Become the luckiest in the world_  
 _I saw it, I saw it, I saw the future_  
 _Really, will it turn out this way?_  
 _I want to give it! I want to figure it out! I want to be happy!_  
 _Stay…(Right here) Stay..._  
 _(Being flustered) I'm tired of that (So) Come with me_  
 _It's a "pure" adventure! As I thought, it's love_

 _How weird... (As I thought) It's a "pure" adventure! (But!)_  
 _How weird... (As I thought) It's dizzyingly troubling! (Poof! Whoosh!)_

 _I want to give it! I want to figure it out!_  
 _For the sake of today_  
 _With a "pure love", with "purity", we're "lovingly" serious_  
 _I miss you!_

 _Happy? Dear?_  
 _It's the happiest love in the world_  
 _I'll show you, I'll show you, Somehow I'll show you_  
 _With a lot of effort, I'll do my best!_  
 _Happy? Dear? Touching?_  
 _I like you... (So much...) I like you..._  
 _(Catch me) Firmly (More) Look at me_  
 _Getting closer to "love"! Because I love you_

 _More (Firmly...) More firmly (More! Firm!)_  
 _Startled and rushing today!_

She hadn't dared look at Honoka as she sang, and when she faced her after the fact, she could have passed out. Honoka's gleaming eyes were fatal, her clapping even more so.

"Umi-chan, that was amazing!"

"You think so?"

"Of course!" Honoka cheered, giving her another thumbs up. "You put so much effort into this song, and I can even feel what you're feeling. I think that's exactly what I needed to hear."

"R-really?"

Despite praising her, Honoka also couldn't waste a chance to tease her. "Who knew you could write something so cute? I didn't think you were the lovey-dovey type!"

 _"Honoka!"_

Honoka giggled, and though she frowned at first, Umi found herself laughing as well. It was tormenting, but Honoka loved it, and that was all that mattered. That was all she could have hoped for.

"Hey, close your eyes."

"What?"

"Close your eyes!" Honoka repeated enthusiastically. Umi warily obeyed, horrified of what was going to happen next until suddenly, everything stopped. Honoka's lips met hers, and all of her nervous thoughts blew away with the wind.

She was kissing Kousaka Honoka, and she was completely okay with that.

Honoka pulled away and Umi brought herself to open her eyes, shocked when she saw a rather flustered Honoka. She could have fainted right then and there.

Evidently, her brain began working once more, and for a moment it was if she didn't exist. She was stuck in that moment in time, kissing Honoka without a care in the world. She might have wanted that for a long time, and it took until now to realize that.

"Earth to Umi-chan!"

"W-what?"

Honoka faced her with that pure, innocent, yet guilty smile of hers as she told her, "I told you I loved you, didn't I?"

 _"What?!"_

Umi clenched her hands around the handles of the swing, holding on for dear life so she wouldn't fall out of shock. Honoka giggled, and for a moment she swore she could hear cheers and talking in the distance. She found herself asking Honoka, "Did you hear something?"

Honoka shook her head. "Nope!"

Unbeknownst to her, Kotori, Maki, and Nozomi _might_ have followed them.

"Hey, do you have a solo picked out for me yet?" Honoka asked.

"I was actually thinking that you could be the center."

"Really? Thank you, Umi-chan!" Honoka beamed, reaching for Umi's hand. Umi accepted it, and grinned at her in return.

Perhaps love wasn't something as far off as she thought.

* * *

 **author's note**

Happy (early) birthday Umi!

Umi is my best girl, Honoumi is my otp, and Mogyutto is my favorite μ's song, and so this fic was born. It's not perfect, but I had a lot of fun writing it and I'm genuinely surprised that I was able to finish it in time for Umi's birthday.

I didn't touch on Honoka's feelings as much as I wanted to and I feel like the situation seems like it was glossed over, but I'm planning on writing a Honoka-centric sequel that, knowing me, will probably be out around her birthday because I'm a nerd.

Anyway, thank you for reading!


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